Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS, is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS causes loss of muscle control and the disease becomes worse over time. As of today, there is no effective treatment for this neurodegenerative disease that approximately 400 people in BC are currently living with.
This will be the second year qathet region resident Geri Anderson has organized the Move to Cure ALS - Powell River fundraising event at Willingdon Beach Park. For Anderson and her brother Rick, who recently moved to qathet, it's personal. Rick was diagnosed with the life-altering condition eight years ago.
"We will meet on Saturday, June 22, at 9 am, at the Willingdon Beach parking lot, and then walk past the Westview ferry terminal to the Coast Guard station and back," said Geri. "Last year was beautiful weather, and we had 63 participants show up for the walk." Rick said he remembers it was the year the Ice Bucket Challenge became a global phenomenon.
Around that time, he noticed some physical changes that led to years of medical tests and finally a diagnosis approximately two years later. "I used to walk a lot more than people think of walking and I developed a flat foot," said Rick. "I had other symptoms like tightness in my legs.
" He said it took a while for the medical community to understand what was going on, but once he was on the track for a diagnosis, the medical team had its full attention on him, he said. "It's tremendousl.
